Abstract

This pilot study aimed to assess drug-drug and drug-food interactions in elderly patients of a Family Health Care Unit in Aracaju, Brazil. A descriptive pilot study was performed through an interview questionnaire with 35 elderly patients (28 women) of the Family Health Care Unit. The range of consumed medications was 1 to 7, and the rate was 3.1 medications/person. This pilot study identified that 34 elderly used multiple medication and its related problems such as risk of polypharmacy (5) and drug interaction (34). The class of drugs most commonly used was related to cardiovascular system, and alimentary tract and metabolism. Prescriptions with 2 to 3, 4 to 5 and 6 to 7 medications showed potential drug-drug interaction (39, 88.8 and 100%, respectively). Some drugs could not be administrated at meal time. These findings highlight the need for additional studies to further evaluate clinical outcomes associated with polypharmacy and potential drug-drug and drug-food interactions.

Key words: Drug-drug interactions, drug-food interactions, elderly patients.